Government Relations Weekly Round-Up (August 7th)

The condensed legislative schedule has caused some rising tension between the two legislative houses. The deadline for the Assembly and Senate to pass bills from policy committees to the floor for final votes is August 14 and 15, respectively. Still, the number of bills to process in the three weeks left of the legislative calendar has the members under pressure.

According to the Sacramento Bee, the Senate sent around 160 total bills to the Assembly. The Assembly sent 540 total measures to the Senate; both houses nixed about 75% of their proposals since January introductions. The Senate requested their colleagues in the Assembly to make another round of cuts, prioritizing bills on the coronavirus, wildfire issues, and, in the aftermath of national protests against police violence, law enforcement policies. Despite the culling of the bills, the Senate committee chairs are still overwhelmed.

However, Assemblymembers say the Senate chairs have sent mixed messages, not communicating why some bills that do not address COVID-19 or the other listed urgent priorities are being allowed to move forward. In contrast, the other bills that the Assemblymembers feel fit the priorities are being cut.

Also, bills in APCA’s legislative package had hearings this week:

• AB 1196 (Gipson) – Carotid Artery RestraintsThe bill creates a uniform statewide policy to eliminate the use of chokeholds and carotid artery restraints statewide by law enforcement.
• AB 1253 (Santiago) – Millionaire’s RevenueImpose a surcharge on all taxable income over $1 million to generate needed revenue for California in the wake of COVID-19. While our state has taken proactive measures to mitigate the consequences of COVID-19.
• AB 2314 (Ramos) – Native American Voter AccessibilityThe bill authorizes the Secretary of State to establish an advisory committee that would make recommendations and establish guidelines for removing barriers to Native American participation in the electoral process.

Catch up with other news from Sacramento below!

Administrative Actions and Executive Orders

August 4 – Governor Newsom Signs Tribal Compacts and Concurs with U.S. Department of the Interior Decision

• Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he has signed tribal-state gaming compacts between the State of California and the Ione Band of Miwok Indians, the Mooretown Rancheria of Maidu Indians, the Paskenta Band of Nomlaki Indians, the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and the Tule River Indian Tribe of California.
• The Governor has also concurred with the Department of the Interior’s decision to allow 40 acres in Tulare County to be placed in trust for the Tule River Indian Tribe of California, for the purpose of relocating the Tribe’s casino.
• These are important steps forward in acknowledging and strengthening Indigenous sovereignty within California.

The Governor’s letter to Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs Tara Sweeney concurring with the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision can be found here.

State Budget

SACRAMENTO, CA – FEBRUARY 19: A view of the California State Capitol February 19, 2009 in Sacramento, California. After days of wrangling, the California State Senate secured the necessary two-thirds majority to pass a $41 billion budget after Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) broke party lines and voted for the budget. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

On Wednesday, the LAO also reports having added a new post to its California Economy & Taxes blog that reports “preliminary data suggests that tax collections came in about 5% ahead of budget projections” for July, which was a “critical month” since income tax deadlines were extended to July 15 due to coronavirus.

Legislative Actions and Other Resources

On Wednesday State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced that the California Department of Education (CDE) is collaborating closely with Apple and T-Mobile to connect up to 1 million students in need as most schools across California expect to begin the next school year in distance learning. CDE’s commitment to working with Apple and T-Mobile comes at the same time the Governor’s Office and lawmakers included $5.3 billion in one-time funding in the state budget for schools to strengthen distance learning heading into the same year. These funds can be used immediately for purchasing needed technology. Under the arrangement, T-Mobile will provide discounted service and Apple is offering special pricing for iPad + cellular, which has been available to schools on top of its education volume pricing, to enable all learners during this time.

The CDE will provide instructions to school districts to submit orders to Apple and T-Mobile. Districts hoping to get these devices into students’ hands before school starts can apply for funding to help make purchases. At least 100,000 devices can be ready to arrive through the back to school time frame, according to Apple and T-Mobile. The companies expect to be able to fulfill school district demand through the end of 2020.

The Governor’s Office also offered additional guidance for school districts regarding the $5.3 billion in one-time funding in the state budget for schools to strengthen distance learning heading into the same year.

An archived broadcast of the task force meeting can be found on the California Department of Education (CDE) Facebook page.

Public Policy Institute of California has released its report, “Improving K-12 School Facilities in California,” providing the first statewide evidence on the conditions of K–12 school facilities, based on data collected prior to the outbreak. Findings include:

• Statewide, 38 percent of students go to schools that do not meet the minimum facility standards
• Between 2015–16 and 2018–19, 108 schools in 60 districts had to close temporarily due to poor facility conditions.
• Facility needs go beyond basic building functionality.
• COVID-19 has brought additional challenges.

The Institute of Governmental Studies at UC Berkeley has released results of a poll conducted among 8,000 registered voters on the impacts of COVID-19 on Californians, finding that “a majority of the state’s registered voters” report the virus poses a major threat to their own or their family’s health and that “42% says it posed a major threat to their family’s financial situation,” while 66% of both Latinos and Blacks describe the virus as a major threat and 62% of Asians and Pacific Islanders. Release available here.